I met Dr. David Cho Yonggi

One of the highlights in Korea was actually meeting the Senior Pastor of the World Largest Church in the world.

It was a real privilege as not many people get to meet him as he is about 74 years old and technically, he is already retired, as he has handed over the reins of the church to another pastor.

We met him over lunch together, with some of the theology professors speaking at the symposium.

The church has its own newspapers, so we met in their office building (which is a really chic building in their CBD), and we were brought to a special room for lunch.

This is a photo of the table where we had our lunch.

Because we were just theology undergraduates, we were naturally pushed to the “wings”, and if you are looking for me…I am at the far end of the photo nearer to the windows.

If you still can’t see me…Don’t bother :)

Dr. Cho is the 5th person on the left!

It was amazing just listening to their conversations, and hearing about the faith of Dr. Cho.

He may be 74, but he expects himself to live for at least another 20 years – and he believes that he will do much more in the next decade.

Reflecting on this, I realized that many middle aged people, are already losing “steam” and slowing down. Most seniors I know, have already “switched off” and are enjoying their retirement.

But this man just can’t sit down!

He is still dreaming, and encouraging his disciples to come alongside and run the dream together with him!

Here’s a picture of the whole team together with Dr. Cho, his wife, and his No. 2 man.

I got to shake his hand as well! :)

Technorati Tags: Cho Yonggi

Korea: The DMZ

One of the highlights of the Korean trip was visiting the DMZ (De-Militarized Zone).

This international border was decided on June 25, 1950 due to the Korean war, and it is a buffer zone that is 4km wide.

This buffer is therefore a place where there is supposedly no military presence, so as to defuse the conflict between the North and the South.

As relations are kind of “cold”, the DMZ is one of the potential “hot spots” in the world, and has a special place in “Cold War” history. 

On our tour, many of the places we visited, had restricted zones which disallowed tourists from taking pictures.

I had to take pictures within the yellow lines, and could not take any pictures of army personnel as well.

One of the interesting parts of the tour was visiting one of the tunnels which the North Koreans dug to South Korea.

Intelligence tells South Korea that the North, has dug more than 20 tunnels towards the South.

Currently, they have discovered only 4!

This means that there are more more tunnels yet to be discovered!

In the 3rd tunnel, the North even painted the walls “black”, to give the excuse that they were not digging a tunnel but they were “mining for coal!”

The visit to the DMZ was certainly very interesting, and something that you must see, when you visit Korea.

Technorati Tags: DMZ

Sun Ho has a BLOG!

As I was surfing the Sun Ho’s Facebook fanpage today, i chanced upon her blog!

Just type http://sun-ho.com to see her brand new blog page!

Sun was back late last year, and I was just wondering what she has been up to!

Recently, I read Sandra’s blog and I realized that there is this really ugly rumour going around round that Ps Kong Hee and Sun Ho are getting a divorce!

I happen to know them personally, and I will like to say that these rumours are totally unfounded!

Ps. Kong is always on the phone with her and he is always flying over to America to spend time with Sun and Dayan. Personally, I think they are really loving and a really great couple!

I think it must be someone’s idea of a really sick joke to start a false rumour like this!

Anyway, i think this vblog is really cool, and I don’t mind trying the creme bule in New York!

It looks really “Yummey-licious!”

Technorati Tags: Sun Ho,kong Hee,divorce

The boy who shares

Mummy blogs...

Last night, I learnt what sacrifice meant. It was a lesson I'll never forget!

I was driving home from Expo with Nathan besides me. Before I left the car park, I opened a small packet of Hello Panda for him to snack on. If you recall, this was one of Nicole's favorite food, and now it's Nathan's too!

Well, I decided that we should share that little packet of Hello Panda (I mean, who can resist this? haha...) So when he dug his little chubby fingers into the packet and came up with the first piece, I stretched out my hand and ask, "Can Mummy have one please?"

It was easy. He automatically gave me that piece.

As an aside, Nathan has always displayed a very giving heart in all things. He shares his toys, his food and never thinks twice before giving.

Well, so we kinda did an alternate one piece for me, one piece for you from then on. Then came the LAST PIECE. I was driving, so with my eyes on the road, he suddenly proclaimed, "No More!"

I realised there's just one last piece left in his hand. Then this mummy wanted to test his little boy's heart, so I said, "Can Mummy have this please?"

"Nonononono" (giggle giggle)

And when he attempted to put it in his mouth, I opened my mouth and went "Ahhhrrrmmm".

"Nonononono" (giggle giggle)

I tried stretching out one hand, and he turned the empty packet into my hands and said "no more no more" (giggle giggle)

It was quite funny. I knew he wanted this last piece, and here I was making it difficult for him to eat it with all my distractions and requests.

After a while, I got tired. So I stopped, and started asking him about what he learnt in Playgroup. I forgot all about that last piece.

Just before I exited at Bedok Road, I felt a hand tap my elbow. I took a quick glance. It was Nathan giving that last piece of Hello Panda to me! He put it into my hand and said "here memek" (ya, he calls me that!)

Imagine how I felt! I was sooooo touched! With tears in my eyes literally, I put it back in his hand. I poured out my thank yous and i love yous.

He popped it into his mouth (who wouldn't? Just in case mummy changes her mind!) And very quickly exclaimed, "hmmmm... nice!"

How not to love this boy who shares?

New Innovations in Korea

Korean Food Courts are so COOL!

Most of us Singaporeans are used to the food courts that we find in big mega malls like Takashimaya, but I was presently surprised by the innovation found in a Korean Food Court.

At the stall, you will find the normal Japanese displays of the food that you want to buy.

However, in order to purchase the food, that is why Korean technology comes in.

Upon selecting the food that you want, you got to look closely at the display. Why?
The stall holder does not accept CASH!


If you look closely at the display, the Sirloin steak has a label of 7-1
Upon deciding on the Sirloin steak, I had to proceed to a centralized cashier to pay for the food.


The cashier menu has all the codes for the food as well. I paid 5500 won for the meal and that is approximately Singapore $7 for the meal. That is relatively cheap considering that the food in Korea is relatively expensive.

After I paid for the food, the cashier issues me with a receipt accompanied with an order number.


I then waited at my seat, and looked at the queue order numbers. After 5 minutes, my order was called!

All this while, I never talked to the stall holder. The order was dispatched to the stall via the cashier.

Cool right!

It all means that the stall holder has no pressure to sell his/her food.

Maybe Singapore Food Courts will be like that in the near future!

My Adventure in Korea

Hi guys!

You haven't heard from me the last few days, as i am over here in Korea on a business trip and attendting a symposium at Hansei University.

So instead of attending lectures in school, I am currently doing it in the whole new country and 'soaking' up the atmosphere up North!

Here's a picture of the whole team together with Mrs Kim (wife of Doctor Cho Yonggi).

At night, we had a chance to have some authentic Korean food as well.

The kimchi over here is definitely not like any kind found in Singapore and the food is much better than Seoul Garden.

However, the standard of living here is much higher, and a meal in the restaurant costs us Sing $50.

So, after this meal, we began to eat more at the breakfast table :)

Anyway, got to go...Missing the wife and kids!

Update more about my adventures soon.

The Biggest Loser!

Channel 17 (Hallmark Channel) has been showing marathons of a reality show called ‘The Biggest Loser!”

Every Sunday night, they will show at least 5 episodes of “The Biggest Loser” from 9pm all the way to 3am.

The show is really addictive, as overweight people try to “out-do” each other in losing weight, with the aim of changing their life, and losing weight at the same time!

It’s really quite interesting and motivating to watch the show, as you see these really fat people losing as much as 5kg in a week!

In fact, the results are really quite phenomenal!

Seriously, with such radical results..I often find myself on the exercise bicycle and doing push-ups as I watch the show!

I even got told off by my wife for eating supper as I was watching the show! “You are missing the objective of the show!” She exclaimed! :)

Catch the trailer here:

Anyway, Nicole managed to catch some episodes of the show, and she has heard many of our comments.

Very often, we would exclaim, “Oh my! She is so fat!” or "Wow! This one is really fat!"

The little girl was paying attention to us…

The other day, we went for some fried chicken at “Popeye’s” in Changi Airport Terminal 3.

As usual, the queue was long, and the whole family had to wait for our turn to order.

It just happened that, as we waiting – three really FAT people came and queued up behind us. They were really huge and “AMERICAN SIZED”.

Nicole saw them and at the top of her voice, she went:

“Mummy! Look! SO FAT!!!”

We nearly died of embarrassment!

Our maid pretended to watch TV!

Daddy and Mummy stared intensively at the MENU!

We pretended that we did not hear her!

At the corner of my eye, I saw three really unhappy black faces!

How…??? We all wanted to dig a really deep hole & jump in!

Technorati Tags: The Biggest Loser

Featured in Singapore Blog Awards

I am so excited!

I went to the Singapore Blog Awards website (Organised by Wan Bao) today, and I saw ED UNLOADED being featured under the latest news column for the category the Best Lifestyle blog! (Click here)

It’s not exactly my favourite photo, but the great thing is that I am being featured!:)

Will really need the help of all my readers to rally for the blog!

If you want to help me out, here are some simple instructions!

1) Sign up for an account. Click here! 

2) Login to the account (Top right hand corner)

3) Click on the icon – Register / Nominate now!

4) Click on Best Lifestyle Blog (7th category from the top)

5. Look for ED UNLOADED under nominees and click the little icon RALLY by the side.

I think, the finalist will be selected by the 1st of June.

So keep your accounts, as I will need your help in the voting process as well!

Thanks for all your help,

ED

Technorati Tags: Singapore Blog Awards

Laptop Backpack Bag: Get one for FREE!

Have u guys heard of the brand TARGUS?

I bought this knapsack from Targus about 1.5 years ago, and it was fraying and the threads on the bag were running.

The bag can take a 15 inch notebook, and it comes with a hidden water-proof jacket, to protect the bag when it rains. I think it’s quite a nice bag, and I wanted to keep on using it, considering that i paid about $110 for it!

Targus happens to offer a life-time warranty on their products and my friend told me that if the bag was a bit run-down, they would do a “1 to 1” exchange on the bag.

I was skeptical at first, but this week, I decided to put their warranty to the test.

I went down to the computer mart (Funan Centre) and I asked the shop assistant how the warranty worked.

Well, to my surprise, he said it was TRUE!

I could do a “1 to 1” exchange on the bag, as long as they still had it in production, and I could only do it once for each bag!

Well, to cut the long story short, he took my model off his display rack, and I got a

NEW LAPTOP BAG FOR FREE!

I think they just won me over…I will be buying Targus for a long time to come!

Technorati Tags: Targus,Laptop Bag

Thomas & Trains

Looking for a cheap way to entertain your kids?

We regularly stand there and watch as we put Nathan into those machines that don’t go anywhere.

 

Parkway Parade (A local shopping mall) is one of the best malls with a lot of these rides.

It has this nice Thomas the Train machine, which is one of Nathan’s favourites!

In fact, his love for Thomas has not died. Nathan’s infatuation has continued from the his train sets, to basically any form of transportation associated with trains.

At a recent carnival in church, he was riding the train non-stop, and every ride had to be in the engineer’s seat as well. Mummy says he is “So…BOY!”…as she can not understand his fascination with trains!

Nathan and his train from Edmund tay on Vimeo.

Technorati Tags: Thomas the train

Little Princess “Dresses Up”

My little girl is growing up!

When she was young, she played dress up with these toys,

This is her in her latest ‘dress-up.’

Very soon, she will be playing with her mother’s makeup!

Technorati Tags: Princess,Dress up

Mothers’ are so Special

Last Sunday, we celebrated Mothers day!

Mother’s day is a very important day, and they deserve much more than us appreciating them only once a year!

Nicole did not forget her mother as well, and she made a present for Mummy in school.

Here she is with her present:

Inside the package, was a lollipop (Which she consumed even before she saw mummy)

She also made 2 pieces of bread with jam as well. One in the shape of a teddy bear, and the other is a star. The star was already half eaten, before I could take a picture, and once again consumed before mummy saw it :)

It’s ok…daddy chipped in with a present for mummy as  and bought her a pair of shoes from ALDO!

As we gathered at our meetings, we also took out an instant photo printer, took photos and made cards for our mums as well!

Took a photo for my mum as well!

Thank you so much for being that Special Mother in my life!

Technorati Tags: Mother's Day

Singapore Blog Awards

Hey Eveyone!

Some of you have been asking me why it’s been so long since my last post…Sorry la guys!…right now, I am in the midst of exams…so I hardly have any time to blog!

But I do need your HELP! 

The Singapore Blog Awards has just started, and nomination have started.

 

ED UNLOADED is in the running for the Best Lifestyle Blog, and I will need your help to rally for the blog, and write a short note to let the organisers know why ED UNLOADED should be included as a top 10 finalist! Do create a login account  & Please click here to lend your support! 

And since I am on this route…

Do vote for ED UNLOADED in the 2009 Blogger’s Choice Awards as well…

We came in 2nd in 2008, for the “Hottest Daddy Category”

 

but I am running for the “Best Parenting Blog” and the “Hottest Daddy” category in 2009.

I am quite far behind, so please create an account and vote for me!

For more detailed voting instructions, do click here!

Your votes and support is very much appreciated! :)

Technorati Tags: Singapore Blog Awards,Blogger's Choice Awards

Show & Tell for Toddlers

“Show and Tell” did not exist when I was in kindergarten.

In fact, I only heard about it through books and movies. Due to the Singapore Education System getting more and more westernised, it is not surprising that thus phenomenon has been introduced to my children.

Nicole experienced “Show & Tell” last year, and we were just talking about it….

The topic was fruits, and the children were expected to bring their favourite fruits to school.

One of Nicole’s favourite fruits are Oranges, so we would have safely “wagered” that Nicole would have suggested bringing an orange to school.

However, just the week before, Nicole started eating watermelons….and as fate would have it…

Nicole wanted to bring a Watermelon to school!

Mummy tried her best to psycho Nic out of it…but little Nicole decided to put her foot down! (What a time to decide that she wanted a backbone!)

Well…On that Monday, Mummy went to the market and bought Nicole a watermelon, and they both brought it to school.

Nicole’s teacher was so surprised….as she expected to see apples and oranges (like every normal parent)….but Nicole brought a watermelon!

Mummy said it was so heavy…that it probably weighs 10kg-20kg! :)

Technorati Tags: show and tell,watermelons

Sun Ho is on Facebook!

Just went on Facebook recently, and was pleasantly surprised that Sun Ho has started her Facebook page!

It not just got the latest updates about her, but also cool pictures like this one as well!

I saw her latest dance moves, and She was really "moving". Her trainer is also Justin Timberlake's choreographer. Btw, for a full-time mother, I think she is in great shape!

Check out her latest reflections under the notes section as well!

Technorati Tags: Sun Ho,Ho Yeow Sun Facebook

Children and Skin Allergies

Remember my previous catastrophe of going to school and not finding Nicole?

Well…She did not go as the previous night before, she developed rashes!

The next day, we sent her to school, but she was sent home, as the rashes were all over her face as well!

We are still not too sure what caused it…but we suspect that it is peanut butter, as we just bought a whole new bottle, and she had quite a lot of it!

Peanut is supposed to a big time contagion when it comes to rashes, but she never had problems with peanut before.

My research on the net tells me that, even if u aren’t allergic to certain foods, you can develop an allergy to it over the years. This phenomenon happens quite often, when we talk about young children.

Looks like we will try to keep her away from peanut butter for the moment!

Technorati Tags: Skin Allergies,hives,peanut butter

Movie Review - 17 Again

Mummy reviews ...

Last night, we went to watch 17 Again. I chose it cos I was in the mood for something light, funny and of course eye candy.

We entered the cinema with little expectations. This was after all, a tried and tested and maybe a little tired story. One man goes back to his childhood or youth to change what he could have done. It was not to see Zac Efron... hmm... we are not fans, we only know he is from the High School Musical series. So it was really just a time to relax and catch a movie.

The story is about how a Would-Have-Been (Matthew Perry) lived his pathetic, always whining life with a Have-Moved-On wife (Leslie Mann) and two teenage kids who have no regard for him. He blames his wife for being the one who got in the way of him getting a college scholarship, graduating and earning big bucks.

He gets a chance to be 17 again in the same school as his own kids. AND this was when I decided this is a really good movie!

Reasons #1, #2 and #3:

Need I say more??

I told Edmund, if I were a student, I would plaster his pictures all over my files and books (do they still do that?). Haha...

It was then that I realised how long it has been, since those giggling days of swooning at Tom Cruise and Johnny Depp. What can I say? God continues to create gorgeous people around!

Back to the review...

So this Would-Have-Been (now Zac Efron) goes to school and is always in a constant race to protect his son and daughter. He eventually reaches a place where he had a chance to make a decision that would affect his college application. And we have his best friend Ned the Nerd who brought the house down with his really nerdy antics.

It was a feel-good movie (and definitely a look-good one too) with a happily ever after story.

It proves that this time tested formula of going back to the past to make you SEE your mistakes works in the movie world. More importantly, 17 Again reminds us that in every generation, there would be a heartthrob movie which would always bring out that extra heart flutter.

From Mummy blogger, this is a 4 stars out of 5 movie!

Note to all Female readers: I think just for this one post, Edmund's rating (2.5 out of 5) ain't important! Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: Zac Efron,17 again